Jerusalem / Abdel Raouf Arnaout / Anatolia
Israel has expressed cautious optimism about reaching an agreement with Lebanon on the demarcation of the maritime border between the two countries.
On Tuesday, the (official) Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that “there is cautious optimism in Israel regarding the maritime border demarcation negotiations with Lebanon.”
However, Israel threatened to respond forcefully to the Lebanese Hezbollah, in the event that its threats to strike the Qana (Karesh) platform were implemented, in the event of gas extraction before an agreement was reached.
The Israeli official said, “If Hezbollah implements its threats, Israel will respond with force.”
He added: “Israel will start extracting gas from the Karish (Qana) field whenever it so desires.”
On Friday, a high-ranking Lebanese official source said that an agreement could be reached to demarcate the maritime borders with Israel “in the very near future” if an understanding is reached on some outstanding points regarding the 23rd line and the entire Qana field, which Beirut claims.
The northern part of the “Qana” field is located in the marine geographical spot No. 9, and within the 23rd line, which Lebanon considers its maritime borders according to the maps deposited with the United Nations, while the southern part is located within the 29th line.
The official Lebanese source added to Anadolu Agency, preferring not to be named, that the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, “reviewed with the Lebanese officials the contacts he made with the French company Total and the French side after the meetings he held in Paris some time ago.”
Hochstein, according to the source, expressed his optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement, and pointed out that this is necessary, especially at this stage.
The US official visited Lebanon on Monday, which lasted for a few hours, during which he met President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at his headquarters in west Beirut, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the government headquarters in the center of the capital.
His visit to Lebanon came after his visit to Israel.
Lebanon and Israel are quarreling over a marine area rich in oil and gas in the Mediterranean, with an area of 860 square kilometers; The United States is mediating indirect negotiations between them to settle the dispute and demarcate the border.
In October 2020, indirect negotiations were launched between Beirut and Tel Aviv under the auspices of the United Nations, with the aim of demarcating the borders, and five rounds were held, the last of which was in May 2021, then stopped as a result of fundamental differences.
And in early June, Israel brought to the Karish field ships belonging to the Greek-British company “Energen” dedicated to extracting gas, which aroused the objection of the Lebanese government.
On Thursday, the company announced, in a statement, the postponement of gas extraction from the oil field adjacent to the Lebanese border, for several weeks, without explaining the reasons for this.
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